Taika Waititi talks his Star Wars movie: "I would like to take something new and create some new characters"

Taika Waititi's Star Wars movie is very much a mystery. There hasn't been a film from the galaxy far, far away since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, which brought the mainline saga to a close – leaving the way clear for brand new stories. Next up is Waititi's movie, which, according to him, will indeed be something entirely fresh. 

Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy recently talked to Total Film about the need to "create a whole new saga," and, while chatting to Waititi about his role in Disney Pixar's Lightyear, we asked him if he agrees with Kennedy's words. 

"Look, I think for the Star Wars universe to expand, it has to expand," he tells us. "I don't think that I'm any use in the Star Wars universe making a film where everyone's like, 'Oh great, well that's the blueprints to the Millennium Falcon, ah that's Chewbacca's grandmother.' That all stands alone, that's great, though I would like to take something new and create some new characters and just expand the world, otherwise it feels like it's a very small story."

This won't be Waititi's first time in the Star Wars universe – he voiced The Mandalorian character IG-11 and helmed an episode of season 1 of the series, so we can trust that the galaxy is in safe hands. While the upcoming movie doesn't yet have a release date, Kennedy did indicate that we could expect to see it in 2023, so there's not long left to wait to see Waititi's vision realized. 

The director is next releasing Thor: Love and Thunder this July 8, while Lightyear arrives much sooner on June 17. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else coming soon from the galaxy far, far away.